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Damages (TV series)
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Damages is an American television drama series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler (collectively known as KZK). It is broadcast in the United States on the cable network FX and is produced by the creators' own production company, KZK productions. It premiered on July 24, 2007. The show's second season premiered on January 7, 2009. The show has been renewed for a third season.
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Damages is an American television drama series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler (collectively known as KZK). It is broadcast in the United States on the cable network FX and is produced by the creators' own production company, KZK productions. It premiered on July 24, 2007. The show's second season premiered on January 7, 2009. The show has been renewed for a third season. The cast have also signed up for six seasons.
The series revolves around the brilliant yet ruthless lawyer Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), her protégée Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) and the law firm Hewes runs in New York City. The debut season finds Hewes attempting to win a class-action lawsuit against the former CEO of a corporation (Ted Danson) on behalf of his former workers.
Damages has received critical acclaim and has won numerous television awards, including a Golden Globe and three Emmy Awards for its first season. The show is noted for its nonlinear narrative, frequent use of plot twists, technical merit, season-long storylines and the acting ability of its cast.
Plot synopsis
Season One
The show begins at what appears to be the end. A young woman, Ellen Parsons, is found running through the streets half naked and covered in blood. Investigation by the police reveals that her fiancé, David, has been bludgeoned to death in their apartment, and Ellen is quickly arrested.
The scene shifts to six months earlier when Ellen, a newly minted lawyer, is being courted for prestigious jobs. She turns down an offer to work with the defense attorney Hollis Nye in favor of working for notorious lawyer Patty Hewes. When Nye finds out about this, he warns Ellen that working for Patty will change her.
Ellen soon becomes engrossed in the major case which Patty's firm, Hewes and Associates, is pursuing. Hewes and Associates has been retained in a class action suit by the former employees of billionaire Arthur Frobisher. In a case reminiscent of Enron, Frobisher is accused of insider trading and lying to his employees about the health of his company even as he unloaded his stock, depriving his employees of their life savings.
Early on in the series Patty shows that she is willing to go to extreme, even unethical and illegal, lengths to win her case. One such instance is when she has the pet dog of a reluctant witness killed in a manner which makes it look as if Frobisher is responsible. This action emboldens the witness to testify against Frobisher.
As the season progresses Ellen becomes more and more involved in the case, and in Patty's shady dealings. Part of this is due to Ellen's personal connections to the case. Her fiancé's sister turns out to be an important witness in the case. For most of the season Ellen skirts the edge of what is unethical, but eventually comes to cross that line.
As Ellen becomes more and more devoted to the case, her relationship with her fiancé becomes strained. The situation is not helped when Patty betrays his sister. Eventually Ellen and David tire of Patty and Ellen publicly leaves Hewes and Associates. However, she still has an interest in the case and soon becomes embroiled in it again.
Throughout the first season, the series plays with time. The narrative switches back and forth between a traditional linear narrative of events happening in "the past" and a more temporally disjointed narrative of events happening in "the present." The main plot focus of these flashes was the murder of Ellen's fiancé David and the apparent attack on Ellen that same day when she was staying at Patty's apartment. The flashes served to increase speculation among viewers since the audience was privy to information about the future which the characters were not. Until the final episode speculation over the identity of the murderer switched between a whole host of characters including Ellen, Patty, Frobisher, and a stalker whom David acquired.
By the end of the first season the main narrative of the show has "caught up" with the flash forwards and most of the questions raised by them are resolved. The murder charges against Ellen are dropped, the identities of David's murderer and Ellen's attacker are revealed (at least to the audience), and the Frobisher case is resolved with Frobisher giving up the bulk of his fortune to the employees. But he doesn't resolve unscathed when he is shot and left for dead out of revenge.
Season Two
Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Tate Donovan and Ted Danson return as regulars for the second season of Damages. Recurrer Anastasia Griffith is now a regular. William Hurt, Timothy Olyphant and Marcia Gay Harden also join the cast.
Season 2 begins with a mysterious scientist named Daniel Purcell (William Hurt) sending documents to Patty (Glenn Close) following her victory over Arthur Frobisher. Purcell asks for Patty's help, saying he's being threatened, but she refuses. Daniel's wife, the following night, turns up dead and a guilty Patty reluctantly decides to help him. As the case of the murder rolls on Patty begins to realize that there is a major conspiracy going on between Daniel's scientific firm and major energy corporation Ultima National Resources. They continue to make headway as the case rolls on, as over time the supposed killer of Daniel's wife is arrested and the corporation's environmental hazards are being exposed. When inches away from bringing UNR down, Daniel turns on Patty and defends them. We later realize that Daniel was working for them the whole time and he indirectly murdered his wife. CEO of UNR Walter Kendrick (John Doman), meanwhile, is revealed to be merging with another corporation for reasons far more complicated, bizarre and secretive than meets the eye. When Patty catches this, she decides to use a plaintiff against UNR to stop what could happen, and she's able to convince Arthur (Ted Danson) to do it to regain his image. Kendrick's attorney Claire Maddox (Marcia Gay Harden), meanwhile, had an affair with Daniel Purcell (to no one else's knowledge) and isn't aware of Walter's involvement, if any, in Christine's murder.
Ellen (Rose Byrne), meanwhile, is still under the impression that Patty tried to have her killed, and is working with the FBI to bring her down. In reality though, we discover it was possible that it was Uncle Pete that commissioned her attempted murder. In grief counseling, she meets and befriends a mysterious loner named Wes Krulik (Timothy Olyphant), and begins to confide in him. However, Wes is secretly working with Rick Messer, the police detective that murdered David Connor and that had been and still is working for Frobisher. He also has a newspaper shrine of articles of Arthur Frobisher for unknown reasons. He also has articles of David's murder and articles from Ellen's arrest. Also in his shrine are a large amount of guns and other weapons.
When Katie (Anastasia Griffith) re-enters Ellen's life, she begins to bring up old conflicts and new issues, as she recognizes a cop that was the man that tried to kill her. After telling Ellen -- who, even with Patty's help, got nowhere on the issue -- Katie went to the police and filed a report against him. This led to an argument between the two, with Katie claiming that if Ellen had never met Patty, David would still be alive. Katie doesn't understand Ellen's reasoning for going back to Patty, which Ellen says are reasons she wouldn't understand. When Messer thinks the cop's cover has been blown, he shoots and kills him.
Tate Donovan returns as Patty's partner Tom Shayes. After he is given the Infant Mortality case, which the FBI wanted Patty to take to bring her down, the witness asked Tom for some money to hold her over until the trial or she would to go another attorney. He was about to hand over the money until Patty heard about the bribe and convinced Tom to join her in the case against UNR. Despite being named partner to Patty, he is still left in the dark when it comes to certain issues regarding the case. Tom's wife is also expecting a baby boy this season.
Cast
Season Two Main Cast
Glenn Close (Patty Hewes)
Rose Byrne (Ellen Parsons)
Tate Donovan (Tom Shayes)
Anastasia Griffith (Katie Connor)
Marcia Gay Harden (Claire Maddox)
Timothy Olyphant (Wes Krulik)
Ted Danson (Arthur Frobisher)
William Hurt (Daniel Purcell)
Key Characters
| Actor | Character | Episode Count | Current Bio | Status |
|---|
| Glenn Close | Patty Hewes | 22 | Fresh from her greatest legal victory, Patty Hewes is the undisputed champion in the ruthless, back-stabbing world of high-stakes litigation. When a man from her past re-enters her life, the manipulative lawyer is thrust into a murder case which leads to a conspiracy involving one of the country's most powerful energy companies. It's a case that could cost her far more than she's bargained for. | Regular S1-2 | | Rose Byrne | Ellen Parsons | 22 | No longer an idealistic fledgling attorney, Ellen Parsons is becoming masterful at navigating the morally ambiguous maze of Patty Hewes and high-stakes litigation. The only problem is - Ellen thinks Patty tried to have her killed. Fueled by revenge and haunted by her fiancé's murder, Ellen decides to take matters into her own hands. | Regular S1-2 | | Tate Donovan | Tom Shayes | 22 | Recently named a partner in Hewes & Associates, Tom Shayes has stepped into a leadership role at Patty's side. While Tom's newfound position opens up new avenues for fulfillment, his ambition affords him a variety of temptations to compromise his ethics -- both personally and professionally. | Regular S1-2 | | Ted Danson | Arthur Frobisher | 16 | After losing his fortune in a legal battle with Patty Hewes and suffering a near-fatal gunshot wound, all Arthur Frobisher wants to do is begin a new chapter in his life. The onetime billionaire is on a quest to rehabilitate his image. But letting go of his past may not be as easy as he thinks. | Regular S1-2 | | Zeljko Ivanek | Ray Fiske | 13 | The former loyal attorney of Arthur Frobisher, Ray Fiske had a lot of covering up to do for some mistakes he made a while back. But when his dark past affairs were uncovered, Ray had been exposed and was doomed, and committed suicide. | Regular S1; Recurring S2 (Deceased) | | Noah Bean | David Connor | 13 | Ellen's former fiancee, David Connor was the charming doctor that was the love of Ellen's life. But as Ellen was drawn into the cunning world of high-stakes litigation, David was also put in the ring of fire, and was murdered when in possession of a videotape that would ruin Arthur Frobisher's life | Regular S1(Deceased); Recurring S2 | | Michael Nouri | Phil Grey | 13 | Patty's current husband, Phil Grey truly loves his wife and supports her in all that she does. But sometimes, when she's in danger, Phil feels he has to take a stand. | Recurring S1-2 | | Zachary Booth | Michael Hewes | 12 | Patty's brilliant high-school graduate son, Michael definitely has his issues but at the heart is a good kid. He recently discovered his father is Daniel Purcell. | Recurring S1-2 | | Philip Bosco | Hollis Nye | 11 | A criminal defense attorney that tried to hire Ellen, Hollis Nye became a friend for Ellen when she entered the world of Patty Hewes. Really, Mr. Nye was working Ellen in an attempt to have her work with the FBI to bring Patty down, something he succeeded in. | Recurring S1-2 | | Anastasia Griffith | Katie Connor | 11 | Katie Connor is Ellen Parsons' friend. A vivacious young woman with an outgoing personality, she tries to help Ellen reconnect with the world following the murder of David Connor, her brother and Ellen's fiancé. Despite her best intentions, Katie's actions create ever-increasing problems for Ellen. | Recurring S1; Regular S2 | | Tom Aldredge | Peter "Uncle Pete" McKee | 10 | Patty's most trusted ally and, according to Patty, her maternal uncle. With a decades-long history of petty crimes behind him, Uncle Pete's job is to do whatever it takes to protect her. Pete was used as leverage by the FBI to get evidence to them to prosecute Patty, but was murdered to protect an unknown secret. | Recurring S1-2 (Deceased) | | David Costabile | Detective Rick Messer | 10 | This ruthless police detective was under Frobisher's wing when the case was alive and was the one who murdered David Connor. Now, he has to protect himself with the knowledge that Ellen is looking for David's killer. | Recurring S1-2 | | Peter Riegert | George Moore | 9 | An SEC member involved in Frobisher's conspiracy, George Moore's vulnerability in the case shook him up, and he was willing to cross anyone to protect himself. Unfortunately because of this, he was killed by Ray Fiske. | Recurring S1 (Deceased) | | Peter Facinelli | Gregory Malina | 9 | A young naive kid, Gregory Malina began a friendship with Ray Fiske a while back and, unknowingly, became the major player in the Frobisher case. With evidence that would prove him guilty, Ray Fiske had him killed to protect Arthur. | Recurring S1 (Deceased) | | Glenn Kessler | Agent Werner | 9 | An FBI agent working with Ellen to bring down Patty. He is in the middle of a divorce from his wife. | Recurring S2 | | Mario van Peebles | Agent Harrison | 9 | An FBI agent working with Ellen to bring down Patty. | Recurring S2 | | William Hurt | Daniel Purcell | 6 | Daniel Purcell is a brilliant scientist with a mysterious past. When the corrupt company he works for threatens his family, he seeks out the one person powerful enough to help -- Patty Hewes. Patty's efforts are complicated by her personal history with Purcell, setting off an unpredictable chain of events with shocking - and fatal - consequences. | Regular S2 | | Carmen Goodine | Lila DiMeo | 6 | A beautiful but clinically insane woman, Lila was the granddaughter of one of David Connor's patients. She soon began stalking David, even though David continuously shunned her advances. | Recurring S1 | | Jon Doman | Walter Kendrick | 6 | A billionaire alpha-male, Walter Kendrick is the CEO of Ultima National Resources. With mysterious motives for a merger, Waiter's plans and secrets may greatly impact the case, and with no help, it may not go in his favor. | Recurring S2 | | Timothy Olyphant | Wes Krulik | 6 | A mysterious loner, Wes Krulik meets Ellen Parsons in grief counseling and quickly becomes both a friend and confidante. Ellen can't deny her attraction to Wes, but she also isn't sure how much she can trust him -- if at all. | Regular S2 | | Victor Arnold | Larry Popler | 5 | A lifelong employee of Frobisher's that was used as a plaintiff against Frobisher, desperate Larry was secretly leaking info to Frobisher in exchange for money. Frobisher later reneged on the deal and distanced himself from Larry. When caught by Patty and his former co-workers, Larry was kicked out of the class action lawsuit and denied the settlement money. Enraged, Larry followed Arthur to one of his sites, shot him in the stomach and left him for dead. | Recurring S1 | | Marcia Gay Harden | Claire Maddox | 5 | As Ultima National Resources' in-house counsel, Claire Maddox is Walter Kendrick's chief adviser. A legal bulldog who thrives on confrontation, she's a worthy adversary for Patty Hewes. But Maddox's devotion to Kendrick is challenged as she's drawn deeper and deeper into the web of his conspiracy. | Regular S2 | | Clarke Peters | Dave Powell | 5 | A wealthy businessman at the helm of the other side of the major UNR merger, Dave is currently working a bizzare conspiracy with Walter Kendrick for financial purposes. He's recently been successful in turning Phil Grey, Patty's husband, into a UNR shareholder. | Recurring S2 | | Brett Cullen | Wayne Sutry | 5 | A partner in Daniel Purcell's firm, Wayne Sutry is one of the few men heavily involved in Walter Kendrick's massive conspiracy. While he doesn't know as much as he thinks he knows, he'll do whatever it takes to seem good in his eyes. | Recurring S2 | | Kevin Corrigan | Fin Garrity | 3 | A genius but fairly psychopathic energy trader used by Dave Powell and Walter Kendrick to manipulate the energy market. Garrity is very cocky and is a coke addict, but sometimes doesn't know his limitations. | Recurring S2 |
Home video release
The first season of Damages is available for purchase in Region 1 in both DVD and Blu-ray formats as of January 29 2008. The DVD version is available for purchase in Region 4 as of December 19 2007, however this version contains no special features.
International broadcasts
| Country/region | Channel | Debut |
|---|
| Australia | Nine Network | September 16, 2007 | | Austria | ORF 1 | April 14, 2008 | | Belgium (Flanders) | 2BE | | | Belgium (French) | RTL-TVI | | | Brazil | AXN | | | Bulgaria | Nova Television | January 8, 2008 | | Canada (English) | Showcase | February 18, 2008 | | Canada (French) | TVA | January 21, 2009 | | Chile | MEGA | November 16, 2008 | | France | Canal + | February 28, 2008 | | Germany | Kabel 1 | April 21, 2008 | | Hong Kong | ATV World | May 15, 2008 | | Hungary | RTL Klub | January 30, 2009 | | Ireland | RTE2 | | Israel | HOT3 | March 13, 2008 | | Italy | AXN | April 30, 2008 | | Japan | NHK BS 2 | April 2, 2008 | | Latin America | AXN | February 12, 2008 | | New Zealand | TVNZ One | November 7, 2007 | | Portugal | TVI | | | Russia | Home Channel (????????? ????????) | February 16, 2009 | | South East Asia | AXN | January 8, 2008 | | South Africa | M-Net | | Switzerland | TSR 1 | February 1, 2009 | | Turkey | TNT | March 3, 2008 | | United Kingdom | BBC One and BBC HD | January 6, 2008 |
Reception
The first season of Damages received positive reviews from critics with the series ranking in the top ten lists of several critics, including Robert Lloyd (Los Angeles Times), Alessandra Stanley (The New York Times) and Robert Abele (LA Weekly) among others. The return of the series for its second season was also greeted with strong reviews from various publications.
Awards/Nominations
Following the critically acclaimed first season, Damages was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards. Co-creators Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler & Daniel Zelman were nominated for writing and Allen Coulter for directing the pilot episode. Glenn Close received the nomination for her lead role, with co-stars Ted Danson and eljko Ivanek nominated for their supporting roles. Close and Ivanek won in their respective category, with the series also receiving the Emmy for best casting.
And, at the 2008 Golden Globe Awards, the series earned four nominations: one for best series, Glenn Close for best actress, Rose Byrne as best supporting actress and Ted Danson as supporting actor.
Ratings
Despite having critical acclaim, Damages seriously suffers in the ratings. Season 2 premiered with only 1.7 million viewers, after hype was built for the show after Golden Globe and Emmy wins. However, despite the show's low ratings, FX stands by the show and will continue production on the show's third season, which has already been picked up and secured. John Landgraf hopes the show will stay on the air for more than the three seasons already given. Mostly because ratings are good after taking into account encore presentations and "extraordinary" DVR numbers.
External links
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